Kiwis can’t get enough of Audi’s performance vehicles so they can rejoice with the news that an all-new RS3 is joining the line-up early next year.

Combining exhilarating performance, athletic exterior design and motorsport-inspired interior, advanced driving technology, premium sporting luxury and more useability than the average sports car, the RS3 Sportback will land in New Zealand for $112,500.

Equipped with 294kW and five cylinders, the high-performance engine delivers rapid acceleration with an intoxicating soundtrack. The power unit now delivers 500Nm of torque and responds even faster. Visually, the RS3 Sportback demonstrates its athletic prowess with a widened body, RS sports exhaust, and cockpit displays similar to those found in race cars.

“The RS3 Sportback represents the entry point to the RS world and, thanks to its renowned powertrain and new torque splitter, the ultimate in performance in the compact market,” said Dean Sheed, General Manager, Audi New Zealand.

“New Zealand is the number one market in the world for Audi RS products, with Kiwis showing a great fondness for its usable, outstanding performance. The third-generation RS3 Sportback will be our most accomplished edition of this model – and I’m sure Kiwi performance fans are looking forward to its arrival.”

With its five-cylinder, high-performance engine, the Audi RS 3 Sportback is one-of-a-kind in this segment. The 2.5 TFSI has won the “International Engine of the Year” award nine times in a row. In the latest generation of the compact sports car, the engine is now more powerful than ever before. The new RS 3 Sportback sprints from zero to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds.

A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission puts the power to the road – with short shifting times and a sportier gear ratio spread. The engine’s unique 1-2-4-5-3 ignition sequence, and the incomparable sound make the driving experience an exhilarating one.

The new Audi RS3 Sportback is the first Audi model that comes standard with a torque splitter. It replaces the rear axle differential and the previous multiple disc clutch package on the rear axle. Instead, an electronically controlled multiple disc clutch is used on each of the drive shafts. This ensures that the right amount of torque is optimally distributed along the rear axle.

During more dynamic driving, the torque splitter increases the drive torque to the outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load, which significantly reduces the tendency to understeer.